My favorite voice in No Country for Old Men is the voice of Sheriff Bell. His insights into human nature are folksy yet profound. Here is my favorite quote from Part 1:
They says the eyes are the windows of the soul. I dont know what them eyes was the windows to and I guess I’d as soon not know. But there is another view of the world out there and other eyes to see it and that’s where this is goin. It has done brought me to a place in my life I would not of thought I’d of come to. Somewhere out there there is a true prophet of destruction and I dont want to confront him. I know he’s real. I have seen his work. I walked in front of those eyes once. I wont do it again.
Thus, we are introduced to the malevolent presence of another main character in the book, who is rather shadowy in the beginning and gradually becomes more visible until he takes over and nearly kills every other character we encounter in the book. What a destructive force.
The words the McCarthy puts in Sheriff Bell’s mouth express the sense of dread that the this other character inspires. And which turns out to be entirely justified.
Sylvie's World is a Library 